Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Advanced Natural Gas Technology for GM Light-Duty Vehicles
 Westport Innovations Inc announced on June 28th that it has entered into an agreement with General Motors to help develop advanced natural gas engine technology. Both General Motors and Westport will bring their extensive expertise to develop natural gas engine controls, emissions and performance strategies for light-duty vehicles.
“We are excited to work with GM and invest in advanced natural gas technology for the automotive market,” said Ian Scott, President of Westport's Light-Duty Division. “This technology offers the promises of a cleaner, lower cost fuel and reduced carbon footprint, while advancing the use of domestic energy. This agreement demonstrates Westport's success as an advanced technology partner to global automotive manufacturers. Westport's recent announcement regarding the planned acquisition of Emer S.p.A., of Italy, is an integral part of our strategy to provide partners, such as GM, with the most advanced integrated solutions.”
“Natural gas is 97% North American sourced and much less expensive than gasoline or diesel fuels,” according to John Lapetz, Westport's Light-Duty Division Managing Director, North American Vehicle Programs. “It also produces about 15 - 20% less CO2 than those fuels.”
To support OEM programs, Westport plans to add research and development facilities to develop technologies that enable vehicles to run on natural gas for business and government fleets, and personal use.
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